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ART on view 102 lection of more than 700 objects mainly from the lower Sepik, Keram, and Yuat Rivers (fi gs. 7, 8, and 9). Within this collection are some exceptional treasures, notably a group of ceremonial house fi nials, paki. Created by the Biwat people of the Yuat River, this type of sculpture has long been recognized to be “ridge fi gures,” which were placed atop temporary ceremonial houses. They are exceptionally rare, yet Wauchope collected fi ve of the six fi nials held in the Australian Museum collection. Two of the Wauchope examples, the fi nest, will be included in Myth & Magic. The research and development phase of this exhibition involved diligent searching through shelf upon shelf and crate upon crate of objects in museum storerooms across Australia, focusing particularly on objects that have never been displayed, published, or researched to any signifi cant degree. This yielded a number of remarkable fi nds, among them the photography of Des Bartlett, a wildlife photographer who lived among the Iatmul for several months in 1953, which will provide a background of historical imagery for the installation. Bartlett was invited to several stages of initiation events in Palimbei Village, which he documented. During the time he was there, he also collected objects—thankfully with an “eye”—and a number of his Iatmul items are featured in the exhibition.9 One rare object that was located in the research for the exhibition is an Iatmul club of unusual form—at least for Australian collections, though perhaps not for German museums (fi g. 10). This type was described by kiap J. K. McCarthy in 1936: … at this place I saw some weapons that were new to me. They were a kind of battle-axe and were made of hardwood, about four feet in length, and their ends were turned at right angles to the handle to end in a sharp spike. They looked very much like hockey-sticks except for the murderous spike at the end. The handle was carved and an eye was cut at the turn so as to give the weapon the appearance of some long-necked bird.10 Visiting collections is not without its surprise encounters. In one institution, a rich vein of pre-1950s Sepik River and coastal Sepik material was found, but all were listed under the vague yet broadly encompassing geographic location of “off Cape York.”11 Another memorable moment was being able to compare fi fteen Yuat River fl ute stoppers, many collected by the abovementioned E. J. Wauchope, all laid out upon tables at the Australian Museum. This is perhaps the largest collection of these objects anywhere in the world.


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